Rural poverty in parts of Asia could be exacerbated due to negative impacts from climate change on rice production, and a general increase in food prices and the cost of living, says the report of working group two of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report. Launched on Thursday, the report Climate Change 2014 Impacts, Adaptation and...

Rural poverty in parts of Asia could be exacerbated due to negative impacts from climate change on rice production, and a general increase in food prices and the cost of living, says the report of working group two of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report. Launched on Thursday, the report Climate Change 2014 Impacts, Adaptation and...

Our region is most susceptible to devastating cyclones: devastation in Vanuatu after Cyclone Pam. Photo: Unicef Australia is underprepared for the security implications of climate change, while our key military allies, like the US and Britain, are bustling to get ready. While domestic discussion of climate change is lost in a sea of partisanship and inaction, abroad, the...

Climate change will sow confusion and concern as it unfolds across South Asia in coming decades. Home to a quarter of the world’s population, this vast region will be hit harder than just about anywhere else. Sudden flooding, storms, droughts and other hazards will upend lives, livelihoods, and economies. As this grim future takes shape, the price of global inaction is rising...

It's a holiday tradition in my family; we go around the table and ask for suggestions or predictions about what may happen in the coming year. We get personal forecasts and more global ones; serious and light-hearted ideas both. Decades ago, I looked forward to William Safire's always interesting and entertaining year-end column for the New York Times, in which he collected his...

OTTAWA, March 18, 2013 /CNW/ - Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Environment Canada (EC) today announced 12 new projects to help Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean address threats to water resources resulting from a changing climate. The Adaptation Research Initiative in Asia (ARI-Asia) and the Adaptation Research Initiative in Latin America and...

A comprehensive global solution is required for combating climate change. The growing demand for energy and the need for new ways to produce and use energy are key challenges to face the consequences of climate change. With the European Union (EU) and Asia comprising a large part of the world’s population from both developed and developing countries, this public forum brings together experts from these socially and politically diverse regions.
This event is presented by the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in collaboration with the University of Melbourne EU Centre on Shared Complex Challenges, the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute and the Australian-German College of Climate & Energy Transitions.
Hear from distinguished speakers from Europe, Asia and Australia about policy alternatives to meet the challenges of climate change and future energy supply, including Tim Flannery and Ross Garnaut.
Presenter(s)
Ms Cathy Alexander
Professor Tim Flannery
Professor Ross Garnaut
Mr Ajai Malhotra
Professor Wang Run
Mr Scott Wyatt
Recorded November 18th, 2014....

A comprehensive global solution is required for combating climate change. The growing demand for energy and the need for new ways to produce and use energy are key challenges to face the consequences of climate change. With the European Union (EU) and Asia comprising a large part of the world’s population from both developed and developing countries, this public forum brings together experts from these socially and politically diverse regions.
This event is presented by the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in collaboration with the University of Melbourne EU Centre on Shared Complex Challenges, the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute and the Australian-German College of Climate & Energy Transitions.
Hear from distinguished speakers from Europe, Asia and Australia about policy alternatives to meet the challenges of climate change and future energy supply, including Tim Flannery and Ross Garnaut.
Presenter(s)
Ms Cathy Alexander
Professor Tim Flannery
Professor Ross Garnaut
Mr Ajai Malhotra
Professor Wang Run
Mr Scott Wyatt
Recorded November 18th, 2014....

A comprehensive global solution is required for combating climate change. The growing demand for energy and the need for new ways to produce and use energy are key challenges to face the consequences of climate change. With the European Union (EU) and Asia comprising a large part of the world’s popu

The Asia Institute and Foreign Policy in Focus hosted “Climate change and the future of East Asia:First steps towards a new civilization” a seminar led by John Feffer (director at Foreign Policy in Focus & Asia Institute senior associate) & Emanuel Pastreich (director of the Asia Institute) on Octob

Climate change

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change is caused by factors that include oceanic processes (such as oceanic circulation), variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions, and human-induced alterations of the natural world; these latter effects are currently causing global warming, and "climate change" is often used to describe human-specific impacts.

Scientists actively work to understand past and future climate by using observations and theoretical models. Borehole temperature profiles, ice cores, floral and faunal records, glacial and periglacial processes, stable isotope and other sediment analyses, and sea level records serve to provide a climate record that spans the geologic past. More recent data are provided by the instrumental record. Physically-based general circulation models are often used in theoretical approaches to match past climate data, make future projections, and link causes and effects in climate change.